Three suspects – aged 31, 35 and 46 – have appeared in the Parys Magistrates’ Court on allegations of kidnapping and fraud.
They were arrested in Sasolburg on Wednesday, 3 July, by members of the Hawks and Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), and appeared in court on Thursday.
An administration clerk at the Parys Traffic Department was walking to work on 28 June when a black Golf GTI stopped next to him. Passengers pretended to be asking for directions before he was attacked and forced into the vehicle.
The victim was taken to Sasolburg, where he was allegedly forced to perform transactions using his fingerprint on a traffic department biometric system.
The fraudulent transactions, worth over R8 million, were for the licensing of vehicles. It is not yet known how the suspects accessed the software.
The victim went to the police station to report the matter after his attackers released him. He led the police to the suspects.
